Sunday, November 11, 2012

Gaba Tea from Taiwan

I'm excited because yesterday I received a sample of Gaba tea from a company called Tea from Taiwan.

Gaba tea is relatively new. It was invented in 1987 in Japan. Gaba tea is praised for its long list of health benefits attributed to the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) it contains. Some of the benefits include relieving anxiety, preventing PMS, stabilising blood pressure and stimulating fat burning. The key to the composition of this tea is that it is exposed to nitrogen, not oxygen during processing.



After opening the bag I was excited to see that it is not broken, but that it looks quite a bit like standard gunpowder tea. The leaves show some glossiness and I like how they seem to have kept freshness.




Than I went to prepare the tea. The difficulty I had was that the producer did not say how much tea is required for one tea cup, so I did it the usual way of adding a teaspoon per cup. It is recommended that it brews in hot water (95 C) for 3 minutes. A clay pot should be used, but I brewed mine in a glass pot. 

You can see the result in the pictures below. The colour is light brown, having more yellow hints than I expected in the first minute after brewing. The tea gets green undertones when cold. 




It tastes great. It is mild and refreshing with subtle floral notes. Adding sugar or any form of sweetener has not even crossed my mind. I will be recommending this tea to everybody, especially those avoiding to drink green or black tea due to their bitterness. 

The same tea can be brewed 3 to 4 times, which is a great advantage. I brewed the same leaves twice and I could not detect any difference in flavour.

I hope you'll be able to try this tea and let me know what you think.

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